Court lifts arrest of Sevastopol vessel

An Indian court has now officially lifted the arrest of the Sevastopol after a fine imposed by the court was paid. The cargo vessel is property of the Vladivostok-based shipping company Gudson. It was detained while departing from the port of Mumbai and has since been kept in neutral waters at roughly 14 miles off the coast.

The court lifted the arrest after the fine was paid in full on March 19th. On February 27th an Indian court issued a request for a fine in the amount of $200,000 in regard to the Sevastopol’s release. An issue concerning a delay in payments to the ship’s crew remains relevant and thus may further hinder the Sevastopol's departure from the port of Mumbai.

The vessel was detained on the grounds of an arrest warrant against the ship that had been issued by the Madras high court on February 13th, in relation to a commercial dispute between the owner of the vessel and the Chennai-based M/s NTC Logistics (P) Ltd. Out of the allegations against the Sevastopol there were ones of damage to appointed cargo and delays regarding various loading procedures. The vessel received instructions of not proceeding along its route until the commercial dispute was successfully resolved.